Surrounding Mists
by CicadaInvasion
Summary: The Sixth Year account of the DADA teacher, her past, her present, her future.
1. A Song, a German, an Eccentric Lady

You know the deal...I am NOT, I repeat NOT, JK Rowling, nor do I own anything she has already claimed as her own...  
  
duh  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked to the Gryffindor table, or rather pushed and shoved their way to an empty set of seats. When they sat, all three whooshed a large sigh of relief. They might still be soaking wet from the downpour that had traveled north with them all afternoon, but the flood of bodies into the Great Hall had already created a surge of heat. Suddenly, silence fell upon the mass of students as Dumbledore rose gravely.  
  
"I am pleased to see you all back at Hogwarts once again. Before the First Years are sorted, please let me ask you not to incite them to fear. Do not let stories grow out of proportion. The world faces a difficult situation, but hope will bind us together.  
  
"Fear will tear us apart."  
  
As he sat, Professor McGonagall led in a line of eleven-year-olds waiting to be sorted. With each passing year, Harry noticed, they seemed to grow shorter. Silently, they lined up at the foot of the high table, and the sorting hat burst into song.  
  
"Do you hear the people sing Lost in the valley of the night It is the music of a people Who are climbing to the light For the wretched of the earth There is a flame that never dies Even the darkest night will end And the sun will rise  
  
"They will live again in freedom They will walk behind the ploughshare They will put away the sword Their chain will be broken And all men will have their reward"  
  
By now every adult in the hallway had stood up and joined in. Everyone was strangely harmonious, as though it were impossible to be out of tune.  
  
"Will you join in our crusade Who will be strong and stand with me Somewhere beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drums? It is the future that they bring When tomorrow comes Tomorrow comes!  
  
"Will you join in our crusade Who will be strong and stand with me Somewhere beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drums? It is the future that they bring When tomorrow comes Tomorrow comes!"  
  
No one clapped, but sat stunned. Snape had quickly finished and sat down, before too many people realized he had stood in the first place. Then came a drawling voice from the Slytherin table, echoing in the silence.  
  
"What is this, some sort of 'good guy recruiting party?' "  
  
All eyes turned to stare at Draco Malfoy. McGonagall, however, turned back to her list and ignored him.  
  
"Ansely, Jonathon," snapped the formidable transfigurations professor.  
  
Once the sorting had finally ended, and every First Year had taken his or her seat, Dumbledore stood once again.  
  
"First, I would like to introduce the new members of our staff. Professor Connolly - Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
  
The woman sitting next to Snape stood only for a moment, then sat back down. She had thick, brown hair she had pulled quickly to the back of her head; several pieces were coming out, but she didn't seem to care. She was on the tall side, and muscularly built. Harry perceived her to be a bit eccentric.  
  
"And the new teacher of Muggle Studies - Fritz Schulman, formerly of Germany's Magical Muggle Ambassadors Program."  
  
The man on the other side of Professor Connolly stood and gave a slight inclination of his head before sitting back down. He was middle-aged, well- groomed with a toothbrush moustache. He gave off a definite aura of impeccability in contrast to the eccentric Professor Connolly. Once the applause had died down, the German smiled charismatically at the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She smiled broadly back, but Snape looked on with a look of disgust, though Harry wasn't sure where it was directed. 


	2. Philosophic Encounters

Schedules were passed out with varied responses the next morning. Sixth Year Gryffindors, all of whom had been accepted into N.E.W.T. level Defense Against the Dark Arts, were all excited to discover that they would have Professor Connolly first for a double period. The only downside was the Slytherins had her then too, and the groan was heard easily throughout the hall.  
  
Gasps issued from every student as they walked into Professor Connolly's classroom, including Harry. Because of the eccentric aura she had given off last night, he would have bet every galleon in Gringotts that her room would reflect her personality, but this was over the top.  
  
Professor Connolly paced in front of the blackboard. Her hair was messier than it had been the night before, and suddenly, one of hundreds of small portraits that had been hung on the wall caught her eye, and she began talking animately to it. Every inch of the wall was covered with portraits, photographs, posters, and the like. Her desk was cluttered and arranged at the same time. While she finished her conversation with the woman in the portrait, all the students sat at the desks which were placed as though in an ampitheater. The seats in the front were the last to fill, and were taken by Neville, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Seamus and Dean.  
  
Professor Connolly had continued her pacing in the front of the room. Except for the Slytherins in the back of the room, everyone was silent with anticipation.  
  
Suddenly she spun on her heel, and put both hands loudly on Ron's desk. She then straightened and looked the class over.  
  
"Good morning, and welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, N.E.W.T. level. Normally, with this talented group of students, I would work you like slaves. Today, however, I simply want to get to know you, what you have learned, et cetera. And, I am sure, you will want to get to know me. I... ah , yes! Attendance!" she said with enthusiasm. She ran back to her desk, and dug through the pile until she pulled out a long piece of parchment. She ran back to the front of the room, sat on a stool and began to take attendance.  
  
"Well, let's see who's here...Mr. Longbottom is here, Monsieur Weasly is here, Miss Patil and Madamoiselle Lavender are here. Herr Thomas, you are here. Mr. Potter, where are you?...Ah, yes. Miss Granger? Very good, dear. Monsieur Finnegan...there you are. How's your mother dear?" She never really stopped for him to reply. "Messieurs Malfoy and Nott...mmm...yes. Miss Parkinson...Blaise Zabini...good."  
  
"You said you thought she was eccentric, Harry?" Ron asked. "I think she's overdue for the physc ward at St. Mungo's." It was all Harry and Ron could do to keep from laughing outloud.  
  
"Alright," Professor Connolly continued, "I am Professor Brenna Connolly, from Dublin, Ireland. Since I graduated from Hogwarts, I have worked for the Ministry of Magic as an Auror. I was in Germany working with Professor Schulman when the headmaster asked me to come and teach. Now, I'll admit, I have never taught before, and I never considered myself to have those qualitites a teacher should have. I will try my hardest, and, in exchange, I would like the best efforts from all my students.  
  
"I think the best way to understand each other is to have a class discussion. Today we shall discuss the idea of right and wrong. Is it relative, pre-ordained, created by circumstance, or irrelevant? Let's try to get everyone involved. No one is to condemn the ideas or views of another. Okay...go." Hermione's hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Granger."  
  
"Right and wrong could be all four at once to the same person. Their situation in life could have set them in their ways, which would also make it relative. It could be pre-ordained by society that this was right or this is wrong for a person in that situation, but irrelevant to the individual."  
  
"Very good, Miss Granger. Paraphrased, I was going to say the same thing at the end, but let me ask another question. What makes right and wrong? For example, is it wrong to kill someone, and why?  
  
"Mr. Weasley."  
  
"Well," Ron said, "It may be wrong in one situation, but not another."  
  
"Example, please."  
  
"Like, if someone kills someone for profit, that's wrong. But, if you kill one person to save a bunch of other people, it's probably better you did it. It's all depending on the circumstance."  
  
"Take this circumstance, Mr. Potter," continued the professor. "A man kills another man because that man killed his friend. Right or wrong?"  
  
"Wrong, because it doesn't solve anything, it just takes one more life."  
  
"Two wrongs don't make a right," said Professor Connolly. "I want an essay on your opinion of that statement, so I can read it next class."  
  
"How long, Professor?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Long enough to cover the topic, short enough to keep it interesting. Class dismissed." She walked out of the room, leaving the door open. Slowly the students filed out, whispering among themselves.  
  
"She's so cool!"  
  
"She's weird."  
  
"That was a very interesting discussion, though I think the topic for the essay is a bit broad."  
  
"Hermione," Harry said warningly.  
  
"Oh, great. Potions next," whined Ron.  
  
"Thanks for ruining my day, mate," said Harry  
  
After dinner that night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to pay a visit to Hagrid, whom they had not yet been able to talk to. They strode across the grounds as it began to downpour. As the rain poured harder still, they ran the rest of the way to Hagrid's hut. On arrival, Ron pounded on the door to ensure Hagrid heard him above the din. When the door swung open, the trio was pleased to see that Professor Connolly had been sharing a cup of tea with Hagrid.  
  
"Oh, it's you three again," he grumbled. Harry began to wonder if someone had placed him under the Imperius curse, he never acted like this. Suddenly, Hagrid smiled, and said, "Come on in!"  
  
"Well, it's very nice to see you again," said Professor Connolly. "Hagrid, these three students were positively brilliant in class this morning. It is nice to see young people who can use their heads."  
  
"If you'll excuse me, Professor, the discussion we had in class today, exactly how does it pertain to Defense Against the Dark Arts?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Well, Miss Granger, if you do not know where you stand on right and wrong, how can you possibly know what to defend yourself against? While the defense aspect itself is important, you must be sure of what you stand for before you can stand up for it.'' She stood with a groan. "I'll see you later, Hagrid. Do your essays - by yourselves, students." Professor Connolly said as she walked out and snapped the door shut behind her.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked slowly over the muddy ground back up to the castle. All three were exchanging yawns instead of words; Hagrid's tea had made them inexplicably tired, but at least it had stopped raining.  
  
They were about to begin their walk up the stairwell to Gryffindor Tower when they heard voices from one of the other hallways. One voice spoke in silky tones that could only belong to Snape, while the other they had just heard earlier, Professor Connolly.  
  
"Professor-"  
  
"Brenna, please call me Brenna. I hate it when other adults call me 'Professor.' It makes me feel so old."  
  
"One of the students in my house said you admitted to not knowing how to teach this morning," Snape replied, his voice full of sarcasm.  
  
"I recall saying that. I am completely ignorant on the subject," she replied a bit snappishly.  
  
"How then, may I ask, do you intend to teach the pupils here to adequately defend themselves?''  
  
"I plan to tell them what I know, and allow them to discuss and practice. Hopefully, they can then think as well as act for the good of themselves and those who will depend on them."  
  
''This isn't philosophy class, Professor. The real world doesn't revolve around great causes and ideas..."  
  
"Do you think I have no 'real world' experience? Think again! I was an Auror. I have lived through all the major events you have, I mean God, we graduated together!"  
  
"Your mind doesn't live in the real world. It lives somewhere else. Someplace where you don't really have to deal with your problems."  
  
"I've had enough of this! I have as many problems as you do, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, and I refuse to let arguing with you all night make me suffer from a real world problem called lack of sleep! So, Professor Snape, if you will excuse me," she screamed. Their screaming had become so loud it was echoing all through the silent halls, and Harry was sure the whole school had heard it.  
  
"Professor Connolly, as I mentioned before, you are refusing to face your problems again..."  
  
"Good night!" she screamed as loudly as she could. They could hear her shoes pounding towards them, so the trio ran up the stairs as fast as their tired leg would permit, but they heard no more screaming, and Professor Connolly didn't catch up with them.  
  
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